"Her name, sir? why, her name's Bright, of course."
"Yes, yes, but I mean her maiden name."
Billy was puzzled. "If you mean the name my father used to call 'er,"
he said, "it was Nell."
"Ah! that's it--nearly, at least. Nellie she used to be known by. Yes,
yes, but that's not what I want to know. Can you tell me what her name
was before she was married?"
"Well now, that _is_ odd," answered Billy, "I've bin pumped somethink in
this way before, though nuffin' good came of it as I knows on. No, I
_don't_ know what she was called afore she was married."
"Did you ever hear of the name of Bream?" asked the captain anxiously.
"Oh yes, I've heerd o' that name," said the boy, promptly. "There's a
fish called bream, you know."
It soon became evident to poor Captain Bream that nothing of importance
was to be learned from Billy, he therefore made up his mind at once as
to how he should act. Feeling that, with such a possibility unsettled,
he would be utterly unfit for his duties with the fleet, he resolved to
go straight to Yarmouth.
"What is your mother's address?" he asked.
Billy gave it him.
"Now my boy, I happen to be much interested in your mother, so I'm goin'
to Yarmouth on purpose to see her."
"It's wery good o' you, sir, an' if you takes your turn ashore afore we
do, just give mother my respec's an' say I'm all alive and kickin'."
"I will, my boy," said the Captain, patting Billy on the head and
actually stooping to kiss his forehead affectionately, after which he
gave him leave to return on deck.
"I don' know how it is," said Billy to Zulu afterwards, "but I've took a
likin' for that old man, an' at the same time a queer sort o' fear of
'im; I can't git it out o' my noddle that he's goin' to Yarmouth to
inweigle my mother to marry him!"
Zulu showed all his teeth and gums, shut his eyes, gave way to a burst
of laughter, and said, "Nonsense!"
"It may be nonsense," retorted Billy, "but if I thought he really meant
it, I would run my head butt into his breadbasket, an' drive 'im
overboard."
Explaining to the surprised and rather disappointed skipper of the
mission vessel that an unexpected turn of affairs required his immediate
presence in Yarmouth, the captain asked what means there were of getting
to land.
"One of our fleet, the _Rainbow_, starts to-morrow morning, sir," was
the reply; "so you can go without loss of time. But I hope we shall see
you again."
"Oh yes, please God, I shall come off again--you may depend on that, for
I've taken a great fancy to the men of the Short Blue, although I've
been so short a time with them--moreover, I owe service as well as
gratitude to the Mission for sending me here."
Accordingly next morning he set sail with a fair wind, and in due course
found himself on shore. He went straight to the old abode of Mrs
Dotropy, and, to his great satisfaction, found Ruth there. He also
found young Dalton, which was not quite so much to his satisfaction, but
Ruth soon put his mind at rest by saying--
"Oh! Captain Bream, I'm _so_ glad to have this unexpected visit,
because, for months and months past I have wanted you to go with me to
visit a particular place in Yarmouth, and you have always slipped
through my fingers; but I'm determined that you shan't escape again."
"That's odd, my dear," returned the captain, "because my object in
coming here is to take _you_ to a certain place in Yarmouth, and,
although I have not had the opportunity of letting you slip through my
fingers, I've no doubt you'd do so if you were tempted away by a bait
that begins with a D."
"How dare you, sir!" said Ruth, blushing, laughing, and frowning all at
once--"but no. Even D will fail in this instance--for my business is
urgent."
"Well, Miss Ruth, my business is urgent also. The question therefore
remains, which piece of business is to be gone about _first_."
"How can you be so ungallant? Are not a lady's wishes to be considered
before those of a gentleman? Come, sir, are you ready to go? _I_ am
quite ready, and fortunately D, to whom you dared to refer just now, has
gone to the post with a letter."
Although extremely anxious to have his mind set at rest, Captain Bream
gave in with his accustomed good-nature, and went out with Ruth to
settle _her_ business first.
Rejoiced to have her little schemes at last so nearly brought to an
issue, the eager girl hurried through the town till she came to one of
its narrow Rows.
"Well, my dear," said the captain, "it is at all events a piece of good
luck that so far you have led _me_ in the very direction I desired to
lead you."
"Indeed? Well, that is odd. But after all," returned Ruth with a
sudden feeling of depression, "it _may_ turn out to be a wild-goose
chase."
"_What_ may turn out to be a wild-goose chase?"
"This--this fancy--this hope of mine, but you shall know directly--
come."
Ruth was almost running by this time, and the captain, being still far
from strong, found it difficult to keep up with her.
"This way, down here," she cried, turning a corner.
"What, _this_ way?" exclaimed the captain in amazement.
"Yes, why not?" said Ruth, reflecting some of his surprise as she looked
up in his face.
"Why--why, because this is the very Row I wanted to bring you to!"
"That _is_ strange--but--but never mind just now; you'll explain
afterwards. Come along."
Poor Ruth was too much excited to attend to any other business but that
on which her heart was set just then; and fear lest her latest castle
should prove to have no foundations and should fall like so many others
in ruins at her feet, caused her to tremble.
"Here is the door," she said at last, coming to a sudden halt before
widow Bright's dwelling, and pressing both hands on her palpitating
heart to keep it still.
"Wonders will never cease!" exclaimed the captain. "This is the very
door to which I intended to bring _you_."
Ruth turned her large blue eyes on her friend with a look that made them
larger and, if possible, bluer than ever. She suddenly began to feel as
deep an interest in the captain's business as in her own.
"_This_ door?" she said, pointing to it emphatically.
"Yes, _that_ door. Widow Bright lives there, don't she?"
"Yes--oh! yes," said Ruth, squeezing her heart tighter.
"Well, I've come here to search for a long-lost sister."
"Oh!" gasped Ruth.
But she got no time to gasp anything more, for the impatient captain had
pushed the door open without knocking, and stood in the middle of the
widow's kitchen.
Mrs Bright was up to the elbows in soap-suds at the moment, busy with
some of the absent Billy's garments. Beside her sat Mrs Joe Davidson,
endeavouring to remove, with butter, a quantity of tar with which the
"blessed babby" had recently besmeared herself.
They all looked up at the visitors, but all remained speechless, as if
suddenly paralysed, for the expression on our big captain's face was
wonderful, as well as indescribable. Mrs Bright opened her eyes to
their widest, also her mouth, and dropped the Billy-garments. Mrs
Davidson's buttery hands became motionless; so did the "babby's" tarry
visage. For three seconds this lasted. Then the captain said, in the
deepest bass notes he ever reached--
"Sister Nellie!"
A wild scream from Mrs Bright was the reply, as she sprang at Captain
Bream, seized him in her arms, and covered the back of his neck with
soap-suds.
The castle was destined to stand, after all! Ruth's joy overflowed.
She glanced hurriedly round for some object on which to expend it.
There was nothing but the "blessed babby"--and that was covered with
tar; but genuine feeling does not stick at trifles. Ruth caught up the
filthy little creature, pressed it to her bounding heart, wept and
laughed, and covered it with passionate kisses to such an extent that
her own fair face became thoroughly besmeared, and it cost Mrs Joe an
additional half hour's labour to get her clean, besides an enormous
expenditure of butter--though that was selling at the time at the high
figure of 1 shilling 6 pence a pound!